


The Sea Calls Me Home

by Salazar101



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Anal, M/M, Selkies, roadrat - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 02:33:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15109988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salazar101/pseuds/Salazar101
Summary: Mako lives on a lonely stretch of beach between two eccentric neighbors.  He exists in a place between land and sea, forcibly tied to one but drawn to another, which leaves him simply floating through his life.  Until he finds a mysterious man covered in a ruined fur at the top of a cliff and remembers what it is to not be alone.





	The Sea Calls Me Home

**Author's Note:**

> This was available to read A WHOLE MONTH early on my patreon! You can find links at my tumblr [ohgodsalazarwhy](http://ohgodsalazarwhy.tumblr.com/)

The little peninsula was isolated during the winter months, tourists and visitors going home to leave the residents to their lonely little cove. With the beach empty of the yells of children, it now sang a song that only natives could understand.  It was an aching song, the rushing of the waves hollowed out anyone who spent too much time listening to it, but that just made room for the sea to settle in. It tied a man, forcing him to live between land and water, never satisfied on either.

Mako had lived on this beach for most of his adult life, the little cabin his first and only home after moving away from his parents house.  They had died years ago, breaking the final tether that kept him away from the ocean. He belonged to the sea now.

The other residents had planted their roots even before he did, odd people all of them.  A man who collected driftwood and dragged it, no matter the size, into his backyard. It now looked like the twisted forests of hell, but being surrounded by the dead wood, smoothed by the waves, seemed to bring him peace.

His neighbor on the other side of his cabin was a widow who would go to the beach every morning and warble out a song in a language Mako didn't speak.  He'd asked once what it meant and she'd quite earnestly told him it was a song for the seals that splashed in the surf. Her voice carried on the wind and woke him up at the same time every morning.  Her name was August, but Mako called her The Rooster.

Which wasn't to say he didn't have his own odd habits.  Mako waited for the sun to go down before he'd head to the beach.  He liked it best when the tide was out, letting him walk barefoot through the wet sand, with the water rushing in and out around his ankles.  His only light was the moon and stars, reflecting in the black sand until it almost felt like he was walking in the sky itself. Mako wasn't looking for anything more than silence and solitude.  Both of his weird neighbors were nowhere to be seen, the lights were rarely even on in their houses.

It was just Mako and the ocean, which rushed through his hollow soul as the tide came in.

The morning sun brought with it incomprehensible warbling, on time as always.  Mako sighed and rolled out of bed. His morning routine was a cup of tea and a piece of toast while reading the paper. Sometimes it felt like his only link to the outside world since he'd retired early.  Once his simple breakfast was finished he grabbed a well-used broom to fight back the sand that encroached every morning onto his porch. Tourists never understood the work that went into living on the beach, the ocean was cruel and the sand greedy, both tried to swallow his home.

The Rooster's song came to an end just as he was placing his broom back against the side of his home.

“Mako!” she called in a strongly accented voice, “Mako, terrible news!” She climbed the dune before his house with a grunt, her skirts gathered in her fists to keep them from dragging in the sand.

“What?” Mako expected the worst, a tsunami? An incoming storm?  Would they have to leave while the ocean raged?

“It's the seals!” she cried, and Mako relaxed with a sigh.  So not really terrible news.

“What about them?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

August walked up his steps, her wrinkled old face pulled into obvious distress, “Oh, it's horrible! One of the seals is missing!”

“Mmmhmm,” Mako hummed, reaching behind him to open his door and slowly slide back into his house.  No doubt a shark or a orca had a full belly.

“I'm going to search the beach,” she said, turning on her heel and storming off, “be watchful!” she called over her shoulder.

“Yes R- August!” he replied, but she had already crested the dune and headed off down the beach, tottering unsteadily in the sand.

Mako sighed as he slipped back into his house.  Neighbors.

He didn't leave again until the sun had dipped behind the horizon and the moon had risen, casting a gentle glow over the sand in streaks of silver.  A full moon tonight, and the ocean seemed to dance with joy at the sight of it. Mako walked along the beach and though the water nipped more mischievously against his ankles tonight.

Mako was so used to the sound of the ocean that when a new sound showed up, it stopped him in his tracks.  Was that... sobbing? Mako looked behind him and saw his little cabin and neighbors houses in the distance.  August still had her lights on, like a beacon that could call him home. Ahead of him was the curve of the cove, ending in sheer cliffs that serrated the star-filled night sky.  By all accounts he should be alone, but the more he focused on it the more he was sure he could hear someone crying nearby.

He looked around nervously, but the beach was empty.  Thanks to his neighbor there wasn't even any driftwood to hide behind.  Mako cut his walk short that night, but despite the early bedtime, he got less sleep than ever.

August's singing was extra shrill that morning.  Mako groaned and rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head in the hope he could stay asleep just a bit longer.  It was no good, her singing was too loud and desperate this morning. It sounded more like rhythmic screaming than anything else.  Mako reluctantly left his warm bed, but instead of making breakfast and reading the paper he slipped out his backdoor with a cup of tea and walked the beach during the day.  August was by the edge of the water screaming, and Mako noticed seals dancing in the waves. Coincidence? Or did she really call to them?

The old man was dragging some new driftwood up the beach, he gave Mako a curt nod as they passed each other.  His feet took him further and further down the cove until he was climbing the switchback trail up the cliffs. Mako rarely came up here, he wasn't fond of heights and the switchback was narrow and a bit precarious.  During the summer children raced up and down the trail like death couldn't catch them, but Mako's hike up was slow and steady, his eyes avoiding the increasing distance of the beach.

The top of the cliff was covered in grass bending in the ocean wind, rippling like green waves of their own.  Mako stayed away from the edge, despite the amazing view off to the ocean. Why had he even come up here? Seagulls were making an awful racket above him, and down the hill behind him they were landing to peck and hassle something half hidden in the grass.  He could see a bit of dark fur and wondered if an animal had died up here. Mako had seen his share of animals washed up on the beach, but...what would have died up here?

He meandered down the hill, picking up a stone to chuck at the squawking seagulls, which took to the air in an indignant burst of feathers and rage.  At first he thought it was a seal, of all things, laying out in the grass. How the hell would a seal- then Mako noticed it wasn't a seal at all, but a man with a seal coat draped over him.  He was covered in cuts and bruises, and his coat was slashed in several places like it had gotten caught in the propeller of a boat.

“Ah...fuck,” Mako dropped to his knees, fingers slipping under a sharp jaw to check his pulse.  Relief washed through him when he felt it, sluggish but there. A few gentle shakes weren't enough to wake the man up, so Mako wrapped him in his coat, and what an odd coat it was, then picked him up to carry him back down the switchback.  August was gone, and so was the old man, by the time Mako got home. He was breathing heavily as he stepped inside, sweat dripping down his brow. He was a strong man, and the guy was skinny, but it was a lot of weight to carry down a cliff and across the sand as the tide was coming back in.

Should he call an ambulance?  Now that Mako had him in the house, the wounds that looked so awful were no more than scratches.  Maybe he should wait for him to wake up, and if he didn't Mako would call someone. So he gently laid the guy out on the massive sectional couch, removing the nasty old coat and hanging it up in the laundry room before throwing a thick knit blanket over him to preserve some semblance of modesty.  The guy wasn't terribly handsome, he had wild blond hair stiff with salt, so he must have been swimming in the ocean at some point. His face was pointy, his nose long, his eyebrows bushy and his body nearly emaciated. He was missing his right arm and leg, but from what Mako could tell they were old wounds, long since closed and scarred over.

Perhaps he was a homeless man who'd wandered into the ocean and almost drowned.  If that was the case, how had he ended up on top of the cliff? Mako distracted himself by cleaning each little cut and bandaging them, best to avoid infection.  The man's skin was so smooth and hairless, it was eerie in a way Mako couldn't really put his finger on. Were his ears just a bit pointed?

Bah! What was he thinking?  Mako left the man to sleep and instead made breakfast and some tea, having his morning ritual closer to noon today.  He sipped his tea but didn't taste it, eyes on the newspaper but not reading it. He was still warring between calling an ambulance or not, once he'd been wrapped up Mako didn't think he had any major wounds, but what if it was internal and he was slowly dying on his couch?  What if it was nothing and the guy cursed him out for saddling him with medical debt? Besides, it took ages for emergency services to even get out here.

The decision was made for him when he heard noises in the living room.  Mako jumped up so fast his chair crashed to the floor, but he paid it no mind as he rushed into the other room.  The guy was struggling to get out from under the blanket, making sounds of shock and worry. “My skin!” he wailed, clutching at himself as he sat up.

“Calm down,” Mako hurried over, kneeling down beside the couch and trying to get the guy to lay back down, “You're okay.  You're fine.”

“My skin! My skin! You took my skin! You monster!” The wailing was shrill, almost a little mad.  Mako feared he'd brought a crazy person into his house. His skin was- oh, he probably meant that nasty old seal skin coat.

Instead of arguing he got up and grabbed the coat, the ratty, nasty, covered in gashes coat and brought it back.  As soon as the man saw it he burst into tears and grabbed it, hugging it against his chest and hunching over it like he was in mourning.  Mako could only stand by awkwardly until the sobbing quieted down into little sniffles.

“I just hung it up,” he muttered, “I didn't steal it.”

“S-Sorry,” the man sniffed, rubbing his eyes with his arm, “Growing up y'hear all these stories... anyway... where am I? Who're you?”

Mako should be asking him that... but at least he wasn't screaming or crying anymore.  “Mako,” he grunted, crossing his arms over his chest, “you're in my house. I found you up on the cliff... being harassed by a bunch of seagulls.”

The man rubbed his face into the smooth fur of his coat with a sigh, “Feathery bastards...” he looked up at Mako and he was struck by how vibrantly orange his eyes were.  He'd never seen eyes like that before in his life.

“Who are you?” Mako asked, “seems the least you could do is tell me your name.”

The man gave him a watery grin, his canines abnormally long, “Jamie.  In your language, I guess.” Before Mako could ask what he meant by that, Jamie blurt out, “Got any food?”

“Mmmm, wait here,” Mako muttered, moving back to the kitchen.

“Where would I go?” Jamie called after him, but Mako ignored him.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd let something otherworldly into his home.  His Grandpa had told Mako plenty of stories of Ikatere, the Father of all the beings in the sea, and a great God.  Or Ika-Roa, the shark that birthed the stars. Mako had the feeling like he was harboring one of Ikatere's children in his home, though Jamie didn't look like any mermaid he'd ever seen.  Perhaps Jamie was one of Punga's children instead... ancestor of all things ugly.

Mako brought out a plate of eggs and toast, setting it down on the coffee table beside the couch.  Jamie didn't even thank him, he grabbed the plate and dropped his face into it, eating like a dog, one big bite after another until the plate was cleaned, and Jamie licked up every smear of yolk.

“Where are you from?” Mako asked suspiciously, taking the plate back.

Jamie pointed out the window towards the ocean.  Mako let out a long-suffering sigh, walking into the kitchen, “Fine, don't tell me.  Do you have family near here? Somewhere to go?”

“Not anymore,” Jamie said, voice cracking a little, “Are... are ya gonna kick me out?”

Mako came back into the room to see him clutching his coat and looking extra pathetic.  Whether this was intentional manipulation or not, it was working. How could he throw him out when he looked like this?  Besides, what was he going to do, make Jamie crawl off down the road? “No, you can stay...for now,” he added on sharply at the look of absolute joy that split Jamie's pointy face.

“Right, right, just until I get my  _ foot _ under me!” Jamie cackled; his moods were completely unpredictable.

“Right right,” Mako muttered, “well, give me your coat if you're going to stay here.  I'll wash it and-”

“No!” Jamie snapped, mood doing a complete 180 in a second.  He gathered up his coat against his chest and snarled at Mako, looking like he might bite if pushed.

“It's filthy!” Mako snarled back, refusing to be bullied in his own home, “you're getting crap all over my couch! I'm just going to wash it and give it back.”

The look Jamie gave him was so raw that one might think Mako was asking him for his hand in marriage.  He tapped his foot impatiently, “You'll get it back when it's clean, I'll even sew up the cuts.”

“Y'...” Jamie's eyes went wide, “you can do that?!”

Mako shrugged, “Sure, I can try.  I have a sewing kit upstairs, but you  _ have _ to give it to me first,” he held out one hand, waiting for Jamie to make up his mind.  He didn't want to grab the stupid thing away and upset him, but he also refused to have salt and crap all over his clean couch.  Finally Jamie hesitantly handed over the coat, tearing up again.

“Please be gentle with it,” he whispered, “please.”

Mako thought about joking with him, but the look on Jamie's face... “I will, I promise,” he said gently, taking the coat and gathering it up in his arms so it wouldn't drag on the ground.  It was in a sorry state indeed, Mako wondered if he  _ could _ close the gashes.  Regardless, he took it to the washroom and pulled out an old tub he used for hand washing dedicates.  He could hear Jamie shifting around the living room, then some silence.

The repetitive washing was soothing, Mako lost himself to the motions.  Once he managed to wash out the salt and dirt, the fur was silky smooth under his palm.  The way it reacted to water made him almost positive it was a real seal skin. He wondered where Jamie could have gotten it, maybe he was so nervous because it was illegal to own.  Once it was washed he carefully hung it up to dry, letting it drip back into the dirty water in the tub.

Out in the living room, Jamie had slid off the couch and gotten into a trunk in the corner where Mako kept old family albums.  He was sitting naked on the floor, but the blanket was draped over his shoulders and spread out like a cape. “What do you think you're doing?” he growled.

Jamie, apparently incapable of feeling shame, held up one of the albums with a big grin on his face, “Is this your pod?”

“My what?” Mako grabbed the album to see one of the rare group photos of his grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles and cousins.  So many of them... and so many of them were gone. “This is my family,” he said, handing the album back.

“Where are they?” Jamie asked, flipping the pages with an honest sort of interest that made it impossible for Mako to stay annoyed.

“Dead,” he grunted, “or far away.”

“Oh...” Jamie slowly closed the book and set it back in the trunk, “did they love you?”

“...Yeah,” said Mako after a short pause, “they did.”

He bent down to pick Jamie up and carry him back to the couch.  To keep him from digging into things, he was far too curious for his own good, Mako turned on his neglected TV and gave Jamie the remote so he could change the channels as he pleased while Mako went to find his sewing kit and see if he had what he needed to fix the coat.  His supplies weren't great for such a thick material... he might have to make a trip into town before he could fix it. Some thick, heavy duty thread and a leather needle should see him through. Next he pulled out some old sweats and a shirt a one night stand had left behind, small enough to probably fit Jamie.

Downstairs Jamie was hooting and hollering with delight at a commercial, Mako watched him with his hands on his hips and wondered if he'd ever even seen a TV before with the way he was carrying on over an infomercial for some kind of blender.  Mako took the remote from him and changed it to a movie, only to realize it didn't really matter what Jamie was watching because he seemed more entranced by the TV itself than what was on it. That just made the feeling in his gut stronger, perhaps he had invited some mad godchild into his home.  Jamie took the clothes he was handed and got them on with Mako's help. He tried not to stare too much, it made him feel like a pervert to dress this stranger.

“What do you want for dinner?” he asked, eyes lingering on Jamie's pointed face, the size of his teeth, the shape of his ears.  All of it was off but not off enough to confirm much of anything except that he was a strange looking man. He could be mentally handicapped... that was more reasonable than thinking he was a child of Ikatere.  The feeling could not be shrugged off so easily, however.

“Fish!” Jamie said, “our first night together is always fish!”

First night together... absolute madness.  Mako shook his head and wandered into the kitchen to cook up some salmon.  He was frying it in an old cast iron pan when something pawed at his leg and he nearly had a heart attack, jumping back only to see Jamie laying over the floor like a snake and reaching up for him.

“Oy, help a bloke out, would you?” Jamie's fingers clenched in his pants and tugged.

“What are you doing?” Mako snapped, rubbing his chest as if he could physically soothe his rapidly beating heart.  He bent down and picked Jamie up, setting him in one of the dining room chairs before going back to his salmon to make sure it hadn't burned.

“Is it a crime to wanna be in the same room as you?” Jamie whined, watching Mako's every move with those eerie eyes, “this isn't how I pictured any of this...”

“You barely know me,” Mako said, feeling like he was missing half of this conversation, “if you want to go somewhere in the future just... just call, okay?  I don't want to step on you...”

Jamie giggled, a high pitched, grating sound, “Oh, yeah, that'd break me... you're a big guy, ain't ya?”

“So I've been told,” said Mako through grit teeth.

“Thanks.”

“What?” Mako pulled the cast iron pan off the heat and stuck it in the oven before turning to face Jamie, who was looking at him so genuinely it was difficult to look him in the eye.

“Y' saved my life, probably,” Jamie said, chin resting in his palm, “an' I've never imagined giving my skin to anyone but I guess if it has to be someone, a kind, strong bloke like you... well I could do a lot worse.  So thanks. I mean it.”

“You're...welcome...” said Mako slowly.  He had so many questions but was a little afraid of having them answered.

Mako was so used to solitude that he'd forgotten what it was like to have another person sitting and eating across the table from him.  Jamie barely shut up to swallow, and he picked his fish apart with his fingers instead of using the silverware Mako had given him. Despite earlier mood swings, Mako got the impression that cheerful chatterbox was his default state.  The more he talked, the more Mako wondered. He talked about the feeling of the tide pulling at his fur, what it was like to chase a fish, how much dolphins were jerks. Mad stuff. Mako listened anyway, and hid the occasional smile behind his hand because Jamie was just so earnest that it was hard to think him crazy.

By the time dinner was done, and Mako was washing the dishes in the sink while Jamie told him a story about the freezing Northern Seas, he felt... something... settle inside him.  What was that? Like a drop of warm water down his throat on a freezing cold day it seemed to warm him from the inside out. How unsettling... he had been alone too long if this weird looking talk-box was making him feel things like that.

Mako finished dishes and scooped Jamie up, trying to ignore that his laugh was already less grating, and set him on the couch.  Outside the sun was starting to go down so he gathered blankets to give to Jamie so he could bundle up. “Goodnight,” he said, picking up the remote to turn off the TV so Jamie could sleep.

Jamie yawned widely, he seemed to have a few too many teeth in his head, and stretched with a contented sigh, “Yeah... see y' in the mornin'...”

Finally, peace and quiet to process what the hell had happened.  As soon as it got dark he tip-toed to the back door to sneak out for his evening walk, only to turn the handle and-

“H-hey, where're y' goin'?”

Mako looked over his shoulder to see Jamie sitting up on his elbows, watching him in the dim light.  “Outside, for a walk,” he said, opening the door to step out.

“Oh, I want t' come!” said Jamie quickly, throwing off the blankets and slithering onto the floor to crawl towards Mako.

“I usually do this alone-”

“Please don't leave me here,” Jamie begged from the floor, “I want t' come, I promise I'll be quiet too!”

Mako let out a long suffering sigh, eyes turned to the ceiling.  He'd adopted a needy dog, is what he'd done. He couldn't exactly leave Jamie here, he'd probably crawl after him... so Mako reluctantly bent down and picked him up, cradling him in one arm as Jamie hugged his neck, breath hot against his skin as he was carried outside into the moonlight.

True to his word, Jamie was silent as Mako crested the dune, but they both gasped at seeing the beach.  Bio-luminescent algae had washed up in the foam and spread out over the beach, leaving the entire cove glowing in the bright moonlight.  Mako had never seen anything like it in all his years living here.

“It's a blessing,” said Jamie, hugging Mako a little tighter, “and an omen!”

“I-It's just algea,” said Mako hesitantly, walking down to the beach, his footprints washed away every time the water rushed in, bringing with it the vibrant glowing algae which stuck to his skin.  Jamie shifted now and again in his arms, but otherwise he was quiet as promised, though sometimes his lips would accidentally brush Mako's neck in a terribly distracting way. It had been far too long for him if that was all it took to bother him.

Further down the cove he set Jamie down on a driftwood tree that was too big for his neighbor to drag away to give his arms a break, promising him he wasn't going anywhere when he walked further into the surf, staring up at the moon.  He had a man living in his house, a very odd, perhaps mad man. Yet he was also a bit sweet and charming and called to attention a loneliness Mako hadn't even realized he'd been feeling.

He turned around and felt his heart stutter as he noticed Jamie watching him, his eyes reflecting moonlight like a cat's eye, glowing orange in the darkness.  Human eyes didn't do that. Human eyes  _ couldn't _ do that.  Mako squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, hoping that glow would be gone and all he would have to do was question his own sanity, but no, they continued to glow.  They shuttered black whenever Jamie blinked at him.

“You're not human,” said Mako.

Jamie cocked his head, “No... you thought I was?”

“I...” Mako turned back around to look out at the endless ocean, it was less terrifying than what sat innocently behind him.  Proof of a world unknown. “I don't know what I thought.”

“So... when I gave you my skin...” Jamie's voice sounded a little strangled, “...you didn't know what that meant, did you?”

Mako rubbed his face with his hands, turning around and walking through the glowing algae to stand before Jamie, looking down into his face.  With his shadow blocking the glow of the moon, Jamie's eyes once more looked normal, he looked nervous as if any minute Mako could turn on him.  “What did giving me the coat mean?” Mako asked quietly.

“It...it means we're married,” Jamie reached up to him, eyes shining with hope and a little fear.  Mako realized with dawning horror that Jamie was scared of being rebuffed, thrown away, rejected. Mako had accepted a reluctant marriage proposal from an otherworldly being and he hadn't even known it, the real question was... what would he do about it now?

“What are you?” he asked, taking Jamie's hand and gently lowering it, but not letting go of it.  Not a rejection... but not acceptance either.

“A selkie,” said Jamie a bit weakly, “h-how could you not know?  Y' live right next t' one!”

“I...what?”

“Oh, go on then!” Jamie yelled, shoving at him weakly, “leave me! It's how the story always ends!”

“Jamie!” Mako grabbed his hand, holding him still even as he tried to yank away, snarling and spitting at him, “Enough!”  At Mako's roar, Jamie fell silent, staring up at him with a hint of fear; Mako hated that look. He slowly sat down next to Jamie, holding his hand so he couldn't get away, though where would he go while missing an arm and a leg?  “Just... tell me how you got on that cliff, where'd you come from? Why are you... here?”

Jamie wouldn't meet his eye, but he'd stopped trying to pull his hand away, “I live here, my p-pod lives here.  I got into a big fight with my sire and he t-tried ta kill me. Tore me up so bad that when I made it to land and shifted, I couldn't shift back.  My skin is destroyed... I was afraid he'd come fer me, so I crawled up the cliff. Even if I could change back, the gashes in my skin... those are open wounds.  I'd die. I'm trapped here.”

“And when I took your skin-”

“When I  _ gave _ you my skin.”

“-when you gave me your skin, and I accepted it, that made us married?” Mako asked, trying to come to terms with this.  He'd never married, he'd barely dated. On and off he'd have friends with benefits, or he'd go out and have a one night stand.  Never in his life had he wanted a husband, but now Jamie was telling him he'd technically been married for hours. He could hear his Grandpa's voice, warning him about playing fast and loose with a child of  Ikatere.

“Are you going to leave me?” Jamie asked weakly.

“No,” said Mako after a moment of silence, “no... of course not.  I'm surprised, that's all...and I promised to fix your skin.”

“Thank you,” Jamie whispered.

Mako sat on the driftwood trunk and stared out at the ocean, now vaster and deeper than even he had known, as Jamie scoot closer to rest his head against his arm, their fingers tangled together.  The only sound was the rush of the waves and cold wind blowing against them.

Hours later, as the sun was just poking above the horizon, Mako stumbled back home with Jamie in his arms.  He was frozen to the bone from staying outside all night. At some point they'd dozed, Jamie's head tucked against his neck, and Mako's nose buried in Jamie's salty blond hair.  Now he was stiff and exhausted as he pushed into his house. He tried to lay Jamie down on the couch but he sleepily protested and Mako was too tired to fight it, he just carried him to bed and they both collapsed under the thick blankets to get warm.

For once he slept through August's morning song.

It was past noon by the time he stirred again, feeling stiff and particularly sandy.  He'd have to wash these sheets... laying under his arm was Jamie, one eye open as Mako glanced down at him.  There was a moment where time stopped, but it was merely a stutter. Mako sighed and sat up, rubbing crust out of his eyes.  “You need a bath, you got my sheets dirty,” he grunted, for lack of a better thing to say. What else was there to talk about that they didn't cover last night?  He already felt like he’d seen too much, Mako was afraid to learn more.

“Are ya mad at me?” Jamie asked, slowly sitting up on his elbows as Mako slid out of bed.

“For what?” Mako asked shortly, pulling off his dirty shirt and throwing it in the hamper.

“For... for last night?”

“No,” said Mako honestly, though he didn't look over at Jamie, “I'm not mad...but I'm still... digesting it.  Give me time.”

“We got lots of that,” Jamie sounded relieved as he flopped back down into the pillows, rolling into Mako's side of the bed with a deep breath.  Did he like what he smelled? Mako gave himself a surreptitious sniff and grimaced, he needed a bath too. 

“I'm going to shower, then I'll grab you so you can take a bath,” he said, gathering some clean clothes and one of his massive towels to carry it into the attached master bath.

“Why not save water an' do it together?” Jamie called after him, “Mako!”

Mako ignored him and shut the door, leaning against it with a low groan.  He had a selkie husband... how did this happen to him? No good deed goes unpunished apparently.  Mako took a quick shower, washing away some stubborn dried algae and getting all the sand off his body, watching it swirl down the drain along with the soap bubbles.  It was hard to just savor the hot water when he knew Jamie was just outside the door, probably listening to everything.

He turned off the shower and stepped out, plugging up the drain and getting the bath going for Jamie.  Did selkies prefer hot or cold water? Mako let it be warm, and if Jamie didn't like it it wouldn't take long to cool down.

“I still think we shoulda bathed together,” Jamie complained when Mako scooped him out of bed and carried him into the bathroom.

“Maybe next time,” said Mako, helping Jamie strip and trying to ignore how he wriggled his bushy eyebrows in an attempt to be seductive.  He avoided staring as he gently lowered Jamie into the warm water. “Call me when you need to get out,” he said, standing up and grunting as his back popped.

“Mmm, fruity,” said Jamie, grabbing a shampoo bottle and making as if he was going to drink from it.

Mako swore and snatched it away, “Are you doing this on purpose?” he snapped, glaring down at Jamie who simply looked up at him with innocent eyes.

“Doin' what?” he asked, Mako thought he heard laughter just under the facade of innocence,”you think we selkies often bathe in human homes?”

Mako sighed, trying to hide a small smile as Jamie fluttered his lashes at him, “Fine.  You win... I'll stay here.”

Despite Jamie's best efforts Mako kept the whole thing chaste, washing away a layer of salt and sand that forced him to drain the tub twice before Jamie was clean.  He was skinny, but there was a surprising amount of muscle just under the skin, which twitched as Mako's palms ran over it. Jamie made indecent noises now and again which Mako ignored, as well as his half hard cock laying against his thigh.  Mako forced Jamie to wash his bits, knowing if he put his hand down there he might give into the growing temptation.

Once Jamie was clean Mako wrapped him in a towel and carried him back into the bedroom, giving him a shirt and pants to wear that were so big on him the shirt came to his knees and the pants had to be held up with a piece of twine.  He looked like an old-time-y interpretation of a homeless person riding a boxcar.

Since Jamie hated being left behind, Mako helped him hop around on one unsteady leg as he also stripped his sheets and got them running in the laundry.  Jamie cooed and pawed at his skin while Mako loaded the washer. His long fingers brushed gently over the massive gashes, and Mako had to gently pull him away.

“I have to go into town to get supplies,” Mako said, “and-” he added before Jamie could whine, “-you can come! But you'll have to stay in the car while I go in the store, I can't carry you around without drawing attention to us.  I'll only be in there a second anyway.”

“That's fine, I jus' don't wanna be left behind,” said Jamie, clutching Mako's arm for balance, “what're ya getting?”

Mako picked Jamie up as he grabbed his keys and wallet out of a bowl by the front door before heading to his garage.  Inside it was climate controlled in an attempt to control the rust problem anyone living near the ocean suffered. He had various work benches for abandoned projects, an old Ford with a bench seat, and a motorcycle he'd customized as a young man.  Normally he'd take the bike, but with Jamie he decided the truck was the way to go and set him in the passenger seat. Mako buckled Jamie in before getting behind the wheel and setting off.

“Y'know, ya hear stories but they jus' can't capture what it's like up here,” Jamie marveled as they got onto the freeway.   


Sometimes Mako could forget just how busy the world was outside his cove.   


Jamie gasped and pointed at just about everything, a particularly large car, or a very small one, buildings on the horizon, buildings beside the freeway, people who drove too fast or people Mako whipped by.  By the time they made it to town Mako had tuned him out completely. The town was small and a little touristy, filled with things visitors would like to do, quaint artistic shops or a hokey museum.

“Stay here, keep to yourself,” Mako warned as he stepped out of the truck, “understood?”

Jamie threw up his arm, “Yeah! Jeeze, I ain't some dumb pup!”

Mako hummed and then laughed as Jamie bared his teeth at him, shutting the door with a snap.  The local crafts store was small, but they stocked exactly the kinds of things he needed. Some thick thread and a large needle for working leather was all he needed.  He'd learned to sew years and years ago, taught by his grandmother, and he had enjoyed helping people repair their clothes. Mako had to wonder if he could repair Jamie's skin in any meaningful way, and if he did, what would happen then?

He paid for the items and walked back out to the truck to see Jamie with his face plastered against the window watching people walk by.  He jerked back when Mako sat behind the wheel, setting his little bag on the seat between them. “I'm going to get some more food, and then we'll head back.”

“Ah, c'mon,” said Jamie, “I wanna do somethin' fun! What about that?” he pointed to the museum, well, more of a freak show really.  It boldly declared that inside would be things they'd never seen before! Mako had gone a few times, each more boring and culturally insensitive than the last.  In Jamie's case though, it probably  _ was _ full of things he'd never seen before.

“I have a better idea,” said Mako, turning the truck on and rumbling out of the parking lot.

A mile or so out of downtown was an old movie theater that saw considerably less business in the winter than the summer.  If a big car had excited Jamie, a movie would blow his goddamn mind. Mako carried him in and paid for a pair of tickets to the latest Disney movie, something that wouldn't overwhelm Jamie with noise and explosions and violence.  Just a nice kids movie. The theater was empty except for them, and Mako bought a big soda and popcorn for them to split. Jamie wasn't fond of the soda, he seemed to object to the carbonation--”It burns!”--but he loved the popcorn and eagerly shoveled it into his face before the previews had even finished.  Mako had to take it away from him before he finished it too quickly or made himself sick.

Since he'd watched a little TV yesterday, Jamie seemed more inclined to pay attention to the story unfolding before him.  He gasped and laughed and cried out in all the right times, loud enough that Mako was grateful the theater was empty. Instead of watching the movie, Mako watched Jamie.  His face was lit up by the big screen, orange eyes flashing with delight. How had Mako thought him so ugly yesterday? Wasn't there something a little pleasing about his smile or the mischievous glint in his eye?  Some empty part of him was slowly being filled, a part that had once been taken by the waves. 

Mako reached down to touch Jamie's chin, getting his attention for just a second as he bent down to press a kiss against his thin lips.  He tasted like the ocean itself as Mako slipped his tongue between Jamie's parted lips, hand sliding drying along his smooth skin to cup the back of his neck.  The sounds of the movie faded away as they kissed, lips parting for short breaths before both of them came together for more. Mako moved the drink that sat between them and folded up the arm of the chair so he could haul Jamie into his lap, hands on his skinny waist as Jamie eagerly opened up to his increasingly aggressive kisses.

“Fuck,” Mako panted, finally pulling back and tilting his head when Jamie tried to follow him.  Undiscouraged, Jamie merely moved his lips to Mako's neck, sucking and nipping eagerly. “Jamie-ha...ah... nnngg we shouldn't do this here.”

“Then take me home,” Jamie whispered hotly against the shell of his ear.

Mako picked Jamie up, unable to stop himself from a few more kisses as he carried him out of the theater, the movie in the middle of its climax that couldn't possibly match the heat and excitement Mako felt in that moment with his hands on Jamie's body and his lips on his sharp jaw.   


They got as far as the cab of his truck before Mako was crawling over top of Jamie, lips brushing his over and over as he slipped his hands up Jamie's baggy shirt to feel along his naked belly and chest.  “Oh, finally,” Jamie groaned, head falling back as he arched into the touch, “I thought ya didn't want me! What a lonely marriage that would have been!”

Jamie's hand was snaking under his shirt, fingers pinching at his nipple, which had arousal shooting down his spine to settle in his cock.  He jerked back, ignoring Jamie's sound of protest as he wiped his lips with the back of his hand and sat up. The windows had fogged up, and Jamie was pawing at him, but Mako didn't actually fancy getting ticketed for being indecent in a movie theater parking lot.   


“When we get home,” he said, grabbing Jamie's hand before it could slide between his thighs and grab his crotch.  Jamie stuck out his tongue as he plastered up against his side, hand rubbing up and down Mako's thigh. Otherwise, he was good on the drive home; and what a long drive home it was with an eager man right beside him.  It had been  _ far _ too long for Mako since he'd done anything but use his hand.  He'd sunk so deep into his own company that there hadn't been room for anyone else in his life, and he hadn't even realized how achingly lonely he'd been until Jamie had burst in.

The second the truck was parked in the garage, Jamie got handsy again, kissing Mako's neck and kneading his cock through his pants.  Mako grabbed him around the waist and hauled him out of the truck, hands slipping to his ass as he carried him into the house. Jamie wriggled eagerly against his gut, hand on the back of Mako's neck as he ground his cock into his belly.  Mako could feel it, hot even through their clothes.

They fell on the couch, Mako too impatient to make it all the way up to the bedroom.  Besides, the sheets were still in the wash and he didn't want to get his mattress dirty.  He could wash the couch cushions. The massive sectional was more than big enough for the both of them as they kissed and stroked each other, clothes dropping onto the floor one by one until it was just skin on skin, lips traveling everywhere they could reach, hands exploring each new dip and valley.   


Mako found Jamie's skin smooth and hairless, even under his arms and around his cock.  He kissed down his thin chest until he got to his cock, tongue lapping up a bit of precum and finding it salty but not unpleasant.  It wasn't human, not quite.

“Please fuck me,” Jamie groaned, arching against Mako's mouth, “Mako- husband...!”

Mako nipped the inside of Jamie's thigh, he wasn't sure how he felt about being called husband.  That part of their relationship didn't feel real. They were still getting to know each other! “Then you have to wait here,” he said huskily, tongue swiping broadly from the base of Jamie's cock to the swollen head where more clear precum had dripped out over his heaving belly, “while I get what we need.”

“Just hurry,” Jamie groaned, throwing his arm over his eyes as if he couldn't bare to watch Mako walk away.

Mako reluctantly left Jamie, naked and desperate, sprawled out over the couch as he went upstairs to dig through his bedside drawer for supplies that hadn't been used in ages.  The lube and condoms would probably be fine, even if they were a little old. Mako walked back downstairs to see Jamie slowly stroking his cock, orange eyes lighting up as soon as he saw him.  No one had ever lit up like that at the sight of him, it was as flattering as it was overwhelming.

Mako pulled the condom on before crawling over Jamie and bending down to kiss him as they ground together.  He felt like a young man again, his body thrumming with intense arousal and desperate desire. Jamie writhed under him, arching and moaning and begging for more, his legs spreading wide so Mako could reach between them and start fingering him open, lube dripping from his fingers and along the crack of Jamie's ass.  Jamie seemed to open up for him, his hand tangled in Mako's hair to pull him into hard kisses until Mako's lips were sore.

Finally Mako settled between Jamie's thighs, hands on either side of his head as he pushed into Jamie's ready ass.  It didn't matter that he was a supernatural being, his body was as hot and tight as any other, ass squeezing around Mako's cock as he pounded him into the couch.  Mako watched Jamie's face, enjoying the pleasure that had his lips parted, his gorgeous eyes glazed with lust. Mako could feel his cock rubbing along his belly with each thrust, and he wondered how long Jamie could last.  How long could  _ he _ last with this tight ass squeezing around him?   
  
The pace turned harder as Mako got closer, his balls slapping loudly against Jamie's ass.  For a fuck that should have been a defining moment in his life, to his surprise selkie husband, it ended like all fucks do.  Mako came with a low groan, filling up the condom instead of Jamie's ass. He sat up to grip Jamie's cock and stroke him, watching his face as he came too, ass squeezing around Mako's softening cock.

“Wow,” Mako gasped, pulling out and collapsing beside Jamie  he slowly pulled the condom off and let it drop into a trashcan beside the couch.  Mako wriggled his arm under Jamie to hold him tight while they tried to catch their breath. Jamie was looking flushed but pleased as a cat whose gotten some ill-gotten cream.

“Thought ya'd never get around t' makin' me yers... but now we're really together,” said Jamie a bit sleepily.  He was quiet for a second before adding, “Do I have ta keep sleepin' alone on th' couch?”

“Don't see much of a point to that,” Mako said honestly.

“Good,” Jamie grinned at Mako, eyes sparkling with mischief and delight, “I don't like sleepin' alone.”

Mako snorted, eyes slipping shut, “You don't like to do  _ anything _ alone.”

They lay on the couch together for about an hour, but Mako finally wriggled away to pull on a pair of pants and grab the supplies out of the truck while Jamie continued to nap.  With Jamie asleep his house was almost eerily quiet. Had he loved this? Really? This empty silence was so much lonelier than he'd remembered. How could a couple days make such a difference?  Mako took Jamie's skin out of the laundry room, now dry and clean, and carried it upstairs to his little work table where he cleared the space he needed to spread it out.

He hadn't need to stitch much more than tears in clothes in many years, but the stitches were fairly similar to the big tears in Jamie's coat.  He pinched them together and used a tight, strong stitch to slowly fix each slash until it was nothing more than a scar in the skin. His mind was pleasently blank while he worked, not thinking about the selkie downstairs, or the implications of their relationship, or even the sudden knowledge of the supernatural.  Just a man and a needle and his thread. Mako tried to be extra meticulous with each pass, treating Jamie's skin with the reverence he knew it now deserved, fingers brushing over the smooth, soft fur idly.

“Mako?”

Mako looked up from his work as he heard Jamie's voice calling from downstairs, “I'm upstairs!” he called, going back to the skin.  The largest cut was finished, and he'd done up several small ones. Mako was delicately repairing the second largest cut, this one so ragged it was taking all his skill to neatly join the two halves.  He could hear thumping as Jamie crawled up the steps and turned around to see him on all fours in the doorway.   
  
“Take me an' leave me alone?” he pouted.

Instead of reply to that Mako bent down to haul Jamie into his lap, letting him lay sideways in his arms as he bent over the skin, “What do you think? Neat enough fix for you?”

“By the current!” Jamie cried, hand splaying over his skin, fingers feeling along the stitched up slashes.  “Y'... y' fixed it!” There were tears gathering in his eyes like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. 

Mako gently brushed away each tear that fell, “I said I would, didn't I?”

“Y-Yeah but yer human an'... I guess I didn't expect...” Jamie sniffed, resting his cheek against Mako's shoulder.  “There's hope...” he whispered. 

Mako didn't reply to that, getting back to work with Jamie still and silent in his lap.  Finally he had to stop for the night, standing up with a low groan, Jamie held against his chest.  “Alright, I'll finish it tomorrow. My back is killing me.”

“Yer amazin',” Jamie said, his eyes were on the skin up until Mako finally left the room.  “It looks almost like it was never cut! Will ya really... give it back ta me when yer done?”

“Why wouldn't I?” Mako yawned, setting Jamie down on the bed so he could strip down, “It's your skin.”

“Yeah but.. I  _ gave _ it to ya,” Jamie countered.

Mako laid down in bed, hauling Jamie into his arms as he pulled the blankets over them both, “I  _ borrowed _ it.  I told you that, I said I'd fix it and give it back.”

“I guess... guess I didn't believe that part,” Jamie yawned, “yer th' best husband a selkie could ask for.  I'll never forget ya...”   
  
Mako lay awake at night pondering those words long after Jamie was snoring and drooling against him.  Once more he felt like Jamie's words were full of subtext he didn't understand...or like. Mako finally fell asleep, but it was weak and troubled.  August's song woke him up to see Jamie sleepily crawling out the door and down the hallway, clearly not all the way awake.   
  
“Jamie!” Mako groggily rolled out of bed and caught him before he could go headfirst down the stairs.

“Huh?” Jamie jerked in shock and rubbed his eyes, “whu- mornin' Mako!”

“What the hell were you doing? You could have broken your fool neck,” Mako said, carrying him back into the bedroom.

“The song,” Jamie said, rolling out of Mako's arms to kneel on the bed and look out of a little circular window at the head of Mako's bed.  From it they could just see August singing on the beach, but there were no seals... or selkies... in the foamy waves.

“The pod would have moved on somewhere else,” said Jamie a bit sadly, “she's all alone now.”

“You said...  _ she's _ a selkie?” Mako asked hesitantly?  Despite having no one to sing to, August's song was as long as ever.

“Yeah,” said Jamie quietly, eyes never leaving her as he gently swayed to the warbling tune, “she told us her story many years ago when we settled in this cove.  Her husband stole her skin, forcing her to marry him. They had children, whom she loved as much as she hated him. All her children have moved far away.”   
  
“She's a widow, why didn't she leave after her husband died?” Mako asked quietly, horrified to learn he'd known so little about the strange old woman he lived next to.  Now he felt perversely bad about how dismissive he'd been about her all these years. 

“She couldn't find her skin...well... couldn't find it together. He'd burnt it, she found ashes and scrap in a box in the closet when she was cleaning out his stuff.  He'd guaranteed she'd never leave him...and in doing so doomed her to die on land, forever separated from her home and her people.” Jamie pulled away from the window when August's song ended and she walked back towards her home, skirts pulled up to keep them out of the sand.

“She always seemed so cheerful and kind,” said Mako, unable to fathom how anyone could recover from such a betrayal.

“She sings to us every morning her story,” Jamie collapsed back on the bed, looking up at Mako with earnest eyes, “to warn us away from trusting men.  Her story is sad... but not so unusual... I expected ya ta keep my skin forever... but yer not. That makes ya not like other men, Mako. It means my story will have a happier endin'.”

Mako had to bend down and kiss the serious look off Jamie's face, it didn't suit him at all.  He also didn't want to hear anything more, he simply didn't like where it was going. Mako carried Jamie downstairs after a few more kisses, both of them starving for a good breakfast.  He fried up some cod and cooked some eggs and turkey bacon, all of which Jamie eagerly devoured. Mako tried to divert him towards the television, but as soon as they were done eating Jamie eagerly said, “Yer gonna finish fixin' my skin now, right?” and Mako had no excuse not to, so he carried Jamie upstairs to let him sit in Mako's lap as he got back to sewing.

It was a quiet hour before the skin was finished, Mako sat Jamie on his sewing desk as he stood up and let it unfurl, each slash expertly closed with thick thread so they were no more than scars under the fur.  Jamie burst into tears and reached for it, hugging it against his chest like he was a mother getting her child back from the dead. Mako didn't know how to comfort him, or if he could, so he just pet through his wild hair.

“Ya fixed it so fast!” Jamie sobbed, “thank you! Thank you!”

“Jamie... I promised,” said Mako a bit awkwardly.

“Ya did,” Jamie sniffed, rubbing his eyes with the back of his head, “ya did... I wouldn't have begrudged ya if ya held it off fer years, or packed it away forever.  Take me to th' beach, Mako. Please.”

“Right now?” said Mako, heart beating loudly in his ears as fear began to curl in his gut, what was Jamie implying?  Surely Mako was just reading too much into every word.

“Please,” Jamie begged again, eyes wide and pleading.

What could Mako do but obey?  Dread sat heavy in his gut as he slipped out the back door, Jamie in his arms.  The ocean wind was freezing this morning, and he was only wearing a pair of shorts.  Jamie was naked. Mako walked to a more private section of beach, for some reason desperate that neither of his neighbors see him right now.

“Set me down by the water,” said Jamie, wriggling until Mako did as he was asked.   


“You're just going to try it on and see if it works...right?” Mako asked hesitantly.

Jamie bit his bottom lip, looking up at Mako with sorrow in his eyes, “I'm sorry, Mako...my husband.  Married though we may be, an' forever, no selkie can resist the call of the sea if they have their skin.  I have to go. I can come back in seven years an' stay a night... but that's all.”

“What? No! No no no!” Mako fell to his knees in a splash of cold water, “don't leave me so soon, I don't want to be alone again! Just stay for a little while longer, I am an old man, Jamie! I won't make it another seven years like this!”

“I'm sorry!” Jamie's voice cracked on fresh tears, “I wish I could stay, I do! I can't... if I could I would do it fer you! I'll stay in th' area, I promise!”  He was slowly pulling the skin around him and Mako was helpless to stop him as the man transform into a seal. The eyes though...the eyes were still orange and vibrant and sorrowful.  He had tattered right fins, but each wound was now an old scar on his flesh. 

“No,” Mako breathed, heart breaking as Jamie pushed himself further into the surf, looking back now and again with regret obvious in his eyes.  “No! I can't-” Mako stood up and ran after him, the water crashing against his shins, then his knees, then each wave battered his chest. Jamie was further out, barking in alarm.   


“I can't go back to being alone!” Mako roared.

Jamie barked and thrashed in distress, he swam over and slammed into Mako, trying to shove him back towards the beach.  As a seal he was bigger and stronger, but Mako dug his heels in the sand and refused to be shoved back. He couldn't live his life staring out over the water anymore, taking lonely walks, watching his odd neighbors.  Hearing August's song and knowing what it meant. Jamie had brought life back into his tired old soul, and the thought of it draining out over the years until he finally died, alone, was too much.

Salt water crashed over his face and a rush of water around his feet sent him falling underwater with a splash, twisting like a top as despite Jamie's best efforts the current sucked him further into the ocean.  Mako was a strong swimmer, but he wasn't fighting this. If the sea was going to take Jamie, it could take him too.

He wasn't going to be alone again, not when he'd finally remembered what he could have instead.  The waves slammed him against one of the rocky islands just off shore and Mako sucked in a breath at the pain, inhaling a lungful of water.  Jamie was swirling around him as he sank, nose trying to bump him to shore. Mako was too big to be shoved up, even by Jamie. 

Darkness closed around him like a fist, and with it a sense of peace.

However that wasn't it.  Mako lingered in the water, the darkness falling away as a snout urgently bumped at him.  Strength rushed to his limbs and Mako breached the surface of the water, Jamie popping out beside him, barking his head off.  Mako tried to tell him to be quiet but what came out was a booming bark of his own.

He fell silent in shock.

The air seemed to shimmer around him and suddenly instead of barking he heard Jamie screaming.

“SCARED ME HALF TA DEATH YA ABSOLUTE FUCKER! HOW DARE YA! HOW DARE YA DO THAT TO YER HUSBAND! I CAN'T LOSE YA, I CAN'T!”

“Jamie!” Mako had to yell to be heard over the screaming, “what happened to me?”

Jamie bobbed in the waves like a cork, wet eyes blinking at Mako, “I-I dunno... ya died, I think.”

“I didn't die, I'm talking to you, aren't I?”  Unless this was all a hallucination before his brain shut off, which seemed more likely than the reality.  Mako lifted a fin above the water to look at it, it was nearly three times the size of one of Jamie's fins.

“Oh, whatever it was,” Jamie cried, rushing in to rub himself against Mako, snout nuzzling against his throat desperately, “we're together... ya can come with me! Broke my heart havin' ta leave, but don't ever scare me like that again!”

Now that Mako was... a selkie he supposed, he could feel what Jamie could feel.  The call of the sea, that aching desire to dive deeper than this cove could provide.  A compass always pointing North, as it were. Jamie rubbed against him one last time then dived into the water, Mako following a bit clumsily as he learned to use this new body.

Mako's soul sang again as they cut through the water like knives.  Together.


End file.
